In an evolved universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), a user equipment (UE) that has established data connectivity with an evolved node B (eNB) may operate in a discontinuous reception (DRX) mode. While operating in the DRX mode, the UE may disable its receiver and enter a low power state during some time periods, in order to conserve power. The frequencies and durations of the periods during which the UE enters the low power state may be specified by DRX settings that the UE receives from the eNB.
In a E-UTRAN that supports dual-connectivity, a UE may be able to establish concurrent data connectivity with a master evolved node B (MeNB) of a master cell group (MCG) and a secondary evolved node B (SeNB) of a secondary cell group (SCG). In such a scenario, the UE may be configured with the capability of recognizing and observing distinct DRX states and sets of DRX parameters with respect to monitoring a macro cell control channel of the MeNB and a small cell control channel of the SeNB. At any given point in time, if the UE is in a DRX sleep state with respect to one cell but is in a DRX active state with respect to the other, the UE may not be able to enter the low power state. As such, it may be desirable to align the macro cell and small cell DRX parameters in order to achieve a greater degree of overlap between the UE's macro cell and small cell DRX sleep states that may exist in the absence of such alignment.